‘People are more than their medical needs’: Meet Dorothy, Lead Chaplain and Head of Spiritual Care

When families arrive at GOSH, they’re often asked if they have a faith or philosophy. It’s a crucial way to make sure they have the right support when they need it most, and Dorothy is careful to never make assumptions about people’s beliefs. She and her team provide spiritual care for people of all religions and none.

"We don't impose any religious beliefs,” Dorothy says. “We walk with people. I often find that just the idea of ‘I don't have to do this alone’ opens up a whole well of resilience that people didn't know they had.”

Many of the families she meets at GOSH want to ask “the big questions”, Dorothy says. And it doesn’t matter whether they spend time in worship spaces, or if they’re religious at all.

“They want to explore questions around injustice, fairness and meaning,” she explains. “They’re asking, ‘how do I cope with this?’ A big part of what we do is help people work out what resources they already have within themselves or their family or their community that we can bring to the fore.”

Families often encounter the chaplaincy team through GOSH’s sacred spaces: the chapel, the Muslim prayer room and the Jewish Shabbat room.

Visitors are often surprised to find the ornate Victorian chapel right in the heart of the hospital. A part of GOSH for over 150 years, St Christopher’s Chapel is a space where Dorothy and her team host celebrations and services, and where families and staff can come for a moment of quiet or reflection.

“The thing I love most about the chapel is that the pews are child-sized,” Dorothy says. “For me, that's symbolic of what Great Ormond Street is about, that the child's needs must always remain central. I love the fact that those same pews have got scratches and crayon marks and have been inhabited by our children, family and staff. It tells a story.”

The chapel at GOSH never closes, and it’s used at all hours.

“We might get called in at 3 o'clock in the morning,” Dorothy says. “We come into the office, put our things down, and there's almost always someone in the chapel at that time: a parent who can't sleep, a member of staff on their break.”

There’s nowhere Dorothy would rather be at Christmas than at GOSH, especially in St Christopher’s Chapel on Christmas Eve.

“I look out and I see families who, like Mary and Joseph, are far from home, wondering what the future will hold with a little baby who seems so vulnerable,” she says. “The nativity story comes to life in the most powerful way.”

But festive periods can be challenging and complex in a children’s hospital, Dorothy says. They can be a time of sadness, remembrance and feeling homesick for patients and their families.

“A huge part of what we try to do during celebrations like Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, and Diwali is make the hospital as ‘homelike’ as we can. We acknowledge that nobody wants to be in hospital, but if they’re here, then let's spread some of the sparkle,” she says.

An essential part of GOSH, Dorothy and her Spiritual Care team are there to support with everything that comes with being in hospital, not only treatments and procedures.

“People are more than their medical needs," Dorothy says. "We need to make sure that a family going through their worst nightmare has structure and support that makes them feel like they’re not alone.

“It’s about making the hospital a home-from-home, and that comes to life through holistic spiritual care, music therapy, Play specialists and so much more that the charity provides.”